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Setting Camber

Radford

Jedi Knight
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I've got a bit of run in on my fronts. What is the best way to adjust the camber? Would it be to adjust the tie rods.

Anybody got a good reference on this?

Thanks
 
If by "run in" you mean that the front of the tires are closer together than the backs of the tires, as viewed looking down on the car, this is called toe in. Toe in should be about 1/16". It can be adjusted by lengthening or shortening the tie rods.

Camber is the vertical lean of the wheels as viewed from head on. At normal ride height, the wheels should lean out about one to two degrees from top to bottom. Further apart at the top than the bottom. Camber is not usually adjustable.

I'm sure someone will cite a reference for you.
D
 
Actually the top of the tires are leaning in a few degrees wearing the inside of the tire faster than outside. Maybe I called it by the wrong term.

Thanks Dave for answering.
 
This is called negative camber. It can happen if the front ride height is lower than original design. It "could" also happen if the front shock arms have been replaced with something shorter than original or the original shock mounting positions are inboard more than original. If the top fulcrum pin bushings in the shock arms are seriously worn, negative camber could possibly result.

Many racers delibrately creat negative camber as it gives better cornering traction on the front. Tire wear is secondary in this case. There are offset fulcrum pin bushings available that could be used to create slightly more or less camber. If you can get the camber to zero, it should work well. My own car has very slight negative camber due to purposely lowering the front ride height.

The prime suspects would be bushing wear or low front ride height. It's possible that a prior owner changed something to deliberately change the camber. I don't know the history of the car.

If both sides are nearly the same amount of camber, I would tend to rule out bent parts or damage.
D
 
My books show that the "acceptable" range for camber on a "B" is between 1/4 degree negative, to 1 1/4 degree positive, with the ideal setting to be 1 degree positive.
As there is no provision for camber adjustment, I would agree with Dave, (as always) and suspect either worn components, or a PO has tried to improve on his turn in.
First, get a definitive measurement of the angles, and then check for obvious things, such as shims under the shocks, or offset bushings at the control arms. If the camber numbers are the same from side to side, I would suspect that someone has deliberately altered them.
Personally, I run negative camber on the street cars, even though it does nothing for tire longevity. Only about a degree or so negative, not the 2 or 3 degrees I run on the racers. I figure the tires will age out of usefulness before I wear them out from excessive negative camber settings!
Jeff
 
The camber on a B is not adjustable by normal means. If it is off, it is due to damaged components which should be replaced. The lower control arms are a main cause of the problem you describe. Check the arms where the trunion bolt goes through the kingpins. I have seen it where the trunion has frozen and the bolt has worn the hold so oblong that it almost wore through. This is a major safety issue.
 
Thanks everybody. I'll take the Amighty Wise One ...uh, I mean Dave's...advice and start this weekend. Front ends are a mystery to me, engines fine, trannies -leave 'um to the pros, but you'd think a front end wouldn't be that hard. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
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